TechEd 2012, Day 2: Microsoft Talks Windows 8 for Business

To date, Microsoft hadn’t done a very good job of articulating why businesses would want to skip Windows 7 and migrate to Windows 8 instead. But on the second day of TechEd 2012, the software giant unleashed a tsunami of enterprise-oriented Windows 8 information, providing our most comprehensive look yet at its plans. It even showed a tiny peek of the next Office which, yes, is called Office 2013.

“Windows 8 is enterprise-ready by design,” said Microsoft corporate vice president Antoine Leblond, who provided the day two keynote address. “Adding features that bring new possibilities in mobility, productivity and security, Windows 8 will delight developers, IT professionals and the employees they support.”

Of course, with Windows 7 still going strong and racking up over 600 million sales since its debut in late 2009, one might think that Microsoft needs to tread an uneasy balance between pushing the new and selling the current. But the company showed no such qualms about that, noting that virtually all enterprises were already in the process of moving to Windows 7 and wouldn’t need to change their plans. Instead, they figure that businesses will mix and match between Windows 8 with the latter being used in specific scenarios, including tablets and Windows To Go, which provides a safe, secure, and easily transportable Windows 8 environment on a USB stick.

Microsoft made a number of Windows 8-related announcements at the show and revealed more information about enterprise-oriented Windows 8 features. These include:

Microsoft BitLocker Administration and Monitoring (MBAM) 2.0 Beta is now available. This brings Windows 8 support to the firm’s enterprise-focused BitLocker management tool. Download the Beta.

User Experience Virtualization (UE-V) Beta 2 coming soon. Microsoft will deliver the second beta of its user experience virtualization tool by the end of June, I was told. It works with both Windows 7 and Windows 8, and even syncs settings for the same user between different Windows 7 and 8 PCs.

Windows Intune v3 is now available. Microsoft announced this in day one of TechEd, but the new version of the Intune cloud-based PC and device management service is now available. Find out more about Intune.

Windows 8 security features. Windows 8 PCs will feature pre-boot and boot-time protection against boot- and root-kit malware courtesy of Secure Boot and Trusted Boot, respectively. It will provide sign-in protection with new sign-in technologies including virtual smart card support which uses the TPM chip in the CP to offer multi-factor authentication without an easy-to-lose physical smartcard. And it will protect users post-sign-in with technologies such as SmartScreen, which debuted as part of Internet Explorer 9 in 2009. Windows 8 also offers important updates to BitLocker and other security features, and adds support for a coming generation of self-encrypting SSD storage devices.

Windows 8 connectivity features. Windows 8 brings mobile broadband into the OS in a highly integrated way, offering a way for users to easily view and stay within their data limits. It also features advances to DirectAccess (a VPN replacement) and BranchCache, many of which work better when used in tandem with Windows Server 2012.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Microsoft’s datacenter-based hosted desktop technology is now much easier to set up, deploy and configure in Windows Server 2012 and it supports three deployment types with Windows 8. RemoteFX requirements for hardware GPU on the server have also been eliminated, and in side-by-side tests with Windows 7, Windows 8 performs dramatically better in VDI environments.

Windows To Go. There’s been a lot of confusion about Windows To Go, and the various hacks I’ve seen online that attempt to provide this capability have never worked properly. The reason is simple, Microsoft says: It is only certifying two specific USB storage devices for Windows To Go at this time, the Kingston DT Ultimate and the SuperTalent RC8, for performance reasons. A tool to create and deploy Windows To Go sticks will be provided in the RTM version of Windows 8 Enterprise only, Microsoft says, but the company provided Release Preview sticks at a press event, so I’ll be writing more about this technology soon.

During the day two keynote, Microsoft confirmed that the next Office version, expected in early 2013, will be called Office 2013. The version that will be bundled with the ARM version of Windows 8 , Windows RT, will be called Office 2013 RT.

If you’re in Orlando for TechEd today, I'll be taking part in a "Skills for Emerging Technologies" session, which is inconveniently located at the Hilton Orlando Ballroom (across from South Convention Center). It starts at 11:45, but I'll be there around 10:45. If that's not possible, I'll be in the press room and then the Windows IT Pro booth for a few hours in the afternoon.

Discuss this Article 16

@forkieboy,
I agree with your assessment, but what worries me about XP now is that Microsoft will soon discontinue support. That was the primary reason for my statement. I hate the upgrade treadmill as much as anyone. In fact, we had a lot of discussions on whether or not to migrate to Win 7, or hold off for Win 8. In short, the metro interface was our reason for going Win 7.

Forkieboy,
I think if XP SP3 continues to be in widespread use, MS will have no choice but to extend support. That would be fine with me...as we still have several XP machines in use that won't be leaving anytime soon.
In my mind, you just described the cloud! Cloud is nothing more than centralized computing with a different name. I agree, having that sort of dumb terminal/thin client setup is vastly easier on I/T staff...and users as well. I can't count the number of times each month our desktop support reimages a box; due to malware, an o/s crash, or the user bonked up the settings.

R
This is not a no-brainer in any sense of the term. XP runs fine on less expensive hardware and requires a great deal less support from IT staff. The reason many firms have not moved from XP is because it is stable, it is reasonably simple to support, and requires little end-user knowledge. Vista was a disaster, and Windows 7 and 8 are too big a leap.As an ex-mainframe systems programmer (IBM, MVS, CICS) back in the 90's, my recommendation is to wait for the cloud to become a viable option, and a minimum requirement sort of PC to boot into it. The wheel turns full circle !!

If you supported primarily XP machines, then going to WIndows 8 would be a no-brainer...just skip Win 7 entirely. However, if you've got mostly Win 7 boxes now, I wouldn't bother with an upgrade to Win 8. I like many of the features of Win 8 (particularly security, connectivity, and Win to go)...but it's not compelling enough to move from Win 7.

R.
I wonder if Micosoft might extend support for XP SP3 perhaps.
If I were a sysadmin these days my ideal average user device would be -
a screen, with boot capability, enought flash rom to hold the necessary sorfware the user needs to run, enough cache ram to permit a decent working set, a modem or lan attachment, and not much more. In effect, a configuration similar to the old mainframe "dumb" terminal hooked up to an intelligent server configuration. It would deconfuse the user, and make the admin job that much simpler (no reloading of Windows, Office or whatever, just a flash from the server). Just a thought. I would be interested in anyones feedback.

It seems like the new tools are fine and good and all that, and will be GREAT for business that utilise pads and smartphones, however.... (to use the 4channel imageboard quoting system for stupid things)
>DAT GUI
Microsoft needs to realise that the corporate world is not ready to go to this type of GUI for their server and desktop computers.